THE MATCH

Monaco had won their three games since the turn of the year, while Marseille arrived in the principality having lost their last two, not that you would have known it as the visitors quickly took charge.

Duje Caleta-Car pinged a long ball over the top of the home rearguard, and with Guillermo Maripan struggling to keep pace, Nemanja Radonjic burst clear and slipped the ball under Benjamin Lecomte to give Andre Villas-Boas' men a deserved headstart (11').

Monaco had scored three or more goals in their trio of 2021 wins, but took until the 28th-minute to seriously test Steve Mandanda — the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner moved smartly to his left to keep out Sofiane Diop's long-range tester.

Kevin Volland and Wissam ben Yedder have been in superb form for Niko Kovac's men in recent weeks, and both had opportunities to level before the break. The Germany international, who had scored in his five previous top-flight outings, spun on the edge of the penalty area but found Mandanda equal to his goalbound effort (39'); his French international counterpart had the ball nicked off his toe by Caleta-Car just when he sought to pull the trigger (41') to leave OM in the driving seat at the break. 

Aleksandr Golovin came off the bench at the interval, and the Russia international made an immediate impact: his right-wing corner found Maripan, who shrugged off Alvaro Gonzalez to send a header into the top corner and level the scores (48').

Just as Marseille had started the first half strongly, Monaco did the same in the second. Wissam ben Yedder brought a reflex save from Mandanda with a firm shot after Youssouf Fofana had won the ball back high up the pitch (50') and an unmarked Aurélien Tchouaméni could not quite reach a Golovin corner with the OM defence ball-watching (51').

Mandanda then got a crucial hand to block a Volland cross bound for Ben Yedder in the six-yard area (52') as Monaco started to exploit their formidable attacking potential.

OM boosted their own with the emergence of new signing Arkadiusz Milik off the bench on the hour-mark, but it was Monaco with another set-piece that provided the breakthrough. Golovin swung a corner in from the left and Tchouaméni, once again unmarked, got to the ball ahead of Mandanda to head home his first L1 goal (75').

Substitute Stevan Jovetic smashed home a superb free-kick — arrowing a rocket of a shot across Mandanda and into the far top corner — to complete the win and leave Monaco fourth ahead of Rennes game with Lille on Sunday.

THE PLAYER: Aleksandr Golovin

The former CSKA Moscow man again came off the bench to make the difference with his set-piece delivery. Monaco now have so many attacking weapons that the danger can come from anywhere, and when it doesn't come from open play, Golovin can provide the breakthrough from the dead ball.

THE STAT: 2

It's only the second time since the turn of the century that Monaco have scored three goals in four successive L1 matches. They last did so in February 2018.

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